Dave,
It is not hard to do,once you know what you have to do,and I think my pool costs me about 15 euros a month in chemicals,I also have a company I use to fix anything that breaks down and these have prooved to be worth their weight in gold.Only problem being is if you are away for a while in the summer period,as the heat dries up the chemicals more rapidly so really they need checking every 3days or so to keep them balanced.As for getting people in all year round to maintain the pool,it is the old adage you gets what you pay for.

The salt-water pools are more expensive initially, because of the extra equipment you need in the pump-house, but they need less maintenance. A friend of ours has one, and it needs less time than ours to look after, plus you don't have to buy expensive chlorine or 3 in 1 tablets; we're not exactly short of salt here, are we?! Another thing is that the water seems more refreshing.

As you may know Jim, I am a karaoke nut, and I get a kara cdg & record me own vocals over & over until its halfway decent, that one was a little high in key for me, but I think I bluffed me way though, especially the last note or two.

Hey, Dave, just played your Bridge Over... again, and must say that for a hammer chewer you do a really good job.

What prompted me to have another look at this thread is that I just saw in the Leroy Merlin catalogue a Cloración Salina unit for €189. OK, it's only suitable for a small pool, but it does indicate that it's possible to convert an ordinary pool into a salt-water one at a reasonable price. Seeing a tub or 3-in-1 tablets costs about €20, and you go through quite a lot in a year, the payback period could be quite reasonable. Plus, as i said, swimming in a salt-water pool is much nicer than an ordinary one.

Leroy's also show a solar water heater for pools for only €90, but no details.

Grassy arse Jim.
As for the songs, I purchased a very novel player/recorder, that will play all formats including Karaoke, but the best thing is, it has a USB port & or an SD port, so that you can record either the full audio along with video( VCD), or all karaoke formats,Try this one, my version of an old Nat K cole number.The very thought of you.MP33.44MB22 downloads